BARRE — A Thanksgiving tradition that was started by two second-grade teachers at Barre City Elementary and Middle School a decade ago is still alive and well.

Don’t take our word for it. Just ask the folks at the Salvation Army, who picked up 90 freshly baked pies courtesy of the school’s second-graders Tuesday afternoon.

Sure, one of the two teachers who got the tradition started — Christine Farnham — has since moved on, and the other — Kim Douse — has passed her mixing bowl and baking mitts on to Kirsten Evans and Cindy Gregoire. But this week Evans’ and Gregoire’s students spent part of their holiday-shortened week doing what Douse’s and Farnham’s classes had done before them.

They baked!

Well, technically speaking, they left the baking to the folks in the school kitchen, but they made 90 pies — half pumpkin, half apple — for the Thanksgiving dinner that is served up every year by the Salvation Army.

Of course the kiddos had a little outside help. We’re told Wal-Mart kicked in $75, Price Chopper and Shaw’s respectively added $20 and $15, Hannaford donated two cases of evaporated milk, and The Wayside Restaurant provided the pie tins and boxes. Add in more than a few cans of pumpkin pie filling that the Salvation Army passed along and assorted ingredients purchased by their teachers, and students like Jaxon Perkins took it from there.

Monday was crust day, and fillings were the focus Tuesday, when the pies were baked, boxed and picked up.

Jaxon, who prefers pumpkin to apple when he’s in pie-eating mode, says there isn’t a discernible difference when making them.

“They’re both fun.”

The gift of parking

BARRE — Mayor Thomas Lauzon and the City Council gave an early present to the Granite City with free parking until Jan. 1.

Lauzon brought the motion to the council meeting Tuesday, and it passed unanimously.

Free parking applies to all metered spaces in the city, and there are no hourly limitations.

However, those parking in handicap spaces, bus stop areas or permit- or overnight-parking spots without the required permits will still be ticketed.

Shopping to win

WATERBURY — An annual local business promotion, beginning Friday, is giving customers another reason to buy local.

As part of the promotion, Wrap It Up & Win, customers receive a stamp on a playing card when they visit participating merchants. Players who collect five stamps and drop their cards off at designated locations are eligible for weekly prize drawings.

More than 30 businesses will participate, with more than 60 prizes set to be awarded in four weekly drawings.

Prizes include 35 gift certificates from merchants including Hen of the Wood, Sunflower Natural Foods, Bridgeside Books, The Blue Stone, and Arvad’s Grill and Pub. Other prizes include a Heady Topper beer and gift box from The Alchemist Brewery; an infrared quartz space heater from Waterbury’s True Value hardware store; and gourmet confections from Lake Champlain Chocolates.

Beginning Dec. 3, winners will be announced Monday mornings on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1 FM, in the Waterbury Record, and on Revitalizing Waterbury’s Facebook page.

Wrap It Up & Win ends Dec. 23. The final drawing will take place Dec. 24.

There is no limit to the number of times a person can enter.

Shoppers can also get a stamp with a purchase from any artist at a holiday boutique Dec. 1 and 2 at 2 N. Main St. It will feature the works of 15 local artists, including jewelry, fabric arts, photography, and ceramics. Val and John Vincent, longtime Waterbury residents and owners of the former Vincent’s Drug and Variety, have donated the space.

To find Wrap It Up & Win locations, look for the snowmen around Waterbury. For a list and more information on holiday events in Waterbury, visit www.revitalizingwaterbury.org or its Facebook page.

Lots of lights

WATERBURY — Besides a local shopping promotion, Waterbury is marking the season with its popular Holiday Stroll on Dec. 8. It will include open houses, special events and activities for children around town.

The event will be capped off by the annual Rotary tree lighting in Rusty Parker Memorial Park and the magical River of Light Lantern Parade, led by Sambatucada! — Burlington’s street samba band.

The parade, in its third year, features elaborate artist-made lanterns joining simpler lanterns made by children and adults.

Other events, including more than a few surprises, will follow throughout December.

Santa baby

BARRE — We’ve got two words for Santa as he prepares to make a “Tis the season” pit stop in the Granite City on Saturday: “Open wide” (your arms, not your mouth).

The odds of Santa making it out of Barre without a friendly squeeze from the city’s serial hugger — Mayor Thomas Lauzon — are somewhere between zero and none.

If Digger and City Manager Steve Mackenzie can both get hugs from Lauzon, and City Clerk Carol Dawes can get not one, not two, but three mayoral displays of affection, smart money says Santa has a monster bear (Barre) hug coming his way.

Really big puppet show

PLAINFIELD — The wild-looking puppets and political commentary known as Bread and Puppet Theater will celebrate the troupe’s 50th anniversary with a performance at Goddard College on Nov. 30.

The show will be held at the college’s Haybarn Theatre at 8 p.m. as part of Goddard’s 150th anniversary celebration.

“Dead Man Rises and Other Short Shows” is a three-part program showcasing some of the troupe’s best puppetry. It will feature new work as well as its most memorable pieces — including work originally performed during the student occupation of Columbia University in New York City in 1968 and a 1982 parody of electoral campaigns.

Founded by Peter Schumann in 1963 in New York City, Bread and Puppet moved to Glover in 1974 after an invitation to come to Plainfield as Goddard’s first theater in residence in the early 1970s.

A sliding-scale donation of $5 to $10 will be collected at the door.

Walk off

BARRE — Claire Duke and some of her fellow Rotarians may have started something of a fad with their weekly Thursday night strolls downtown, but the walk is off tonight because odds are they’ll all be stuffed.

Not to worry. Duke and her crew plan to pick up where they left off next Thursday at 8 p.m. (that’s a new start time for folks who have been joining them).

Though Rotarians got the whole downtown walk thing going, we’re told members of the Kiwanis Club are planning to walk downtown after their Monday night meetings and members of the Lions Club will be walking Tuesday.

The clubs all welcome company and ask only that you join them in saying “hey” to folks you meet along the way.